As I made my way to Beacon Hill to see the boyfriend, I arrived at his apartment to find some half thawed out meat sitting on the counter. We immediately decided that instead of staying in and cooking dinner (and when I mention "we" and "cooking dinner" I obviously mean that I would be cooking), we should go out to dinner instead. As we walked up and down Charles Street admiring all of the pastel pants, we quickly realized that Wednesday was a much more popular restaurant night than we had originally anticipated. After hearing "45 minute wait" after "45 minute wait", we had almost given up hope when we stumbled upon The Hungry I. Boy am I glad we did.
This cozy restaurant is located at 71 1/2 Charles St. Look carefully, it is almost hidden below street level, and much smaller and less flamboyant than the rest of the Charles Street competition. As we walked in we were instantly greeted by one of the waiters (I believe he was the only waiter on staff that night, and he only works two nights a week because he commutes from the Berkshires... too much info?). He immediately shook our hands, introduced himself, and asked if we would like to be seated on the outdoor patio. We both shook our heads yes and he led us through the intimate dining room, which looked more like a Victorian antique shop than a restaurant, out the back of the restaurant, and on to one of the most beautiful outdoor patio spaces.
It was a brick patio, with no more than six candlelit wrought iron tables. There were vines hanging from the "ceiling," beautiful antique plates, and faint classical music coming from inside. From our table on the cozy patio, I could actually see into the kitchen, which was occupied by one line cook and the head chef.
Now, before I continue on with what I want to be an amazing review, I need to get the three negatives out of the way now. So here goes:
(1.) The tables had nature scattered all over them when we first sat down (understandable since we were sitting outside), and at one point during the night we found a fly doing the backstroke in my boyfriends glass of wine (also understandable and associated with outdoor seating - well maybe not the backstroking part) - but what I didn't like was when he asked the waiter for a new glass to use for the rest of the bottle, since a fly landed in his full glass of wine, the waiter didn't even offer to give him a new glass of wine. Bad form I think. Wouldn't you agree?
(2.) The inside smelled rather musty, so I don't think I would eat at the restaurant unless I was eating on the patio.
(3.) They don't have wine by the glass - just bottles and half bottles.This basically forced us to each get a half bottle, and for me to get slightly drunk.
Alright, back to the good stuff!
As an appetizer we split the Gorgonzola filled dumplings special. Although a bit dense for my personal taste, they were delicious, and I basically had to fight with my boyfriend just so he would share. It was a perfect size appetizer for two people, complete with three dumplings. However, it may have been slightly on the heavy side for an appetizer. I prefer my appetizer to be on the lighter side, but I guess that's what I get for ordering dumplings.
For any entree my boyfriend ordered one of the specials - the blue cheese covered lamb medallions. I ordered the other special, which was a salmon filet with tomatoes and pepperoni. Both entrees were small but filling portions, and both came with a grilled vegetable medley as the side. The vegetables were grilled to perfection, simply flavored, and delicious.
The lamb medallions were tender, delicious and covered in a sauce that was both thick and packed with blue cheese flavor. My salmon was cooked to perfection, and simply melted in my mouth. Now, I will be the first to admit that my experience with french cuisine is limited - so perhaps what I will say next will sound silly to others - but I had never before seen pepperoni being paired with filet of salmon! When I heard it I just knew I had to try it, and boy was I glad I did. Heavenly. The flavor combination of the salmon with the tomato and the pepperoni was elegant, light, and so flavorful.
We declined dessert because we were both so full, and luckily we did because WOW was the check more than we were expecting. BEWARE - ordering the half bottles of wine will significantly raise your bill! Overall our experience there was incredible, and both agreed that we would go back in a heart beat! (right after our wallets have time to replenish).
It was a brick patio, with no more than six candlelit wrought iron tables. There were vines hanging from the "ceiling," beautiful antique plates, and faint classical music coming from inside. From our table on the cozy patio, I could actually see into the kitchen, which was occupied by one line cook and the head chef.
Now, before I continue on with what I want to be an amazing review, I need to get the three negatives out of the way now. So here goes:
(1.) The tables had nature scattered all over them when we first sat down (understandable since we were sitting outside), and at one point during the night we found a fly doing the backstroke in my boyfriends glass of wine (also understandable and associated with outdoor seating - well maybe not the backstroking part) - but what I didn't like was when he asked the waiter for a new glass to use for the rest of the bottle, since a fly landed in his full glass of wine, the waiter didn't even offer to give him a new glass of wine. Bad form I think. Wouldn't you agree?
(2.) The inside smelled rather musty, so I don't think I would eat at the restaurant unless I was eating on the patio.
(3.) They don't have wine by the glass - just bottles and half bottles.This basically forced us to each get a half bottle, and for me to get slightly drunk.
Alright, back to the good stuff!
As an appetizer we split the Gorgonzola filled dumplings special. Although a bit dense for my personal taste, they were delicious, and I basically had to fight with my boyfriend just so he would share. It was a perfect size appetizer for two people, complete with three dumplings. However, it may have been slightly on the heavy side for an appetizer. I prefer my appetizer to be on the lighter side, but I guess that's what I get for ordering dumplings.
For any entree my boyfriend ordered one of the specials - the blue cheese covered lamb medallions. I ordered the other special, which was a salmon filet with tomatoes and pepperoni. Both entrees were small but filling portions, and both came with a grilled vegetable medley as the side. The vegetables were grilled to perfection, simply flavored, and delicious.
The lamb medallions were tender, delicious and covered in a sauce that was both thick and packed with blue cheese flavor. My salmon was cooked to perfection, and simply melted in my mouth. Now, I will be the first to admit that my experience with french cuisine is limited - so perhaps what I will say next will sound silly to others - but I had never before seen pepperoni being paired with filet of salmon! When I heard it I just knew I had to try it, and boy was I glad I did. Heavenly. The flavor combination of the salmon with the tomato and the pepperoni was elegant, light, and so flavorful.
We declined dessert because we were both so full, and luckily we did because WOW was the check more than we were expecting. BEWARE - ordering the half bottles of wine will significantly raise your bill! Overall our experience there was incredible, and both agreed that we would go back in a heart beat! (right after our wallets have time to replenish).
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